INTRODUCTION

Through this paper I have tried to analyse the problems or challenges of courier service industry. In the past, people have been unhappy with the postal services, especially when sending packages from one place to other. There were a vast number of complaints from people about their packages being damaged or lost.

Due to this, people had become doubtful about using courier services. However, courier and air freight services have become extremely popular in the past few years. This is mainly due to the many advantages it offers over traditional postal services. With courier services, you can make sure that your packages will reach the destination on time and in a good condition. Courier services began to learn that the best way to keep customers happy was to offer optimal services. In the present highly competitive market, people will only opt for services that will deliver their parcels to the required destination on time and in the best condition.

An Overview of Service Marketing

Service marketing typically refers to both business to consumer (B2C) and business to business (B2B) services, and includes marketing of services like telecommunications services, financial services, all types of hospitality services, car rental services, air travel, health care services and professional services.

About Courier
A courier is a person or a company who delivers messages, packages, and mail. Couriers are distinguished from ordinary mail services by features such as speed, security, tracking, signature, specialization and individualization of express services, and swift delivery times, which are optional for most everyday mail services. As a premium service, couriers are usually more expensive than usual mail services, and their use is typically restricted to packages where one or more of these features are considered important enough to warrant the cost. Courier services in India are well established. The service may be better at times as compared to the national postal department services, but may be costlier also, up to two to three-fold depending on the type and amount of goods carried and the destination distance. In general, packaging and handling of courier is satisfactory, though the delivery may be erratic even in big cities in India. Nearly all the companies provide satisfactory tracking systems. Some of the companies also provide ultra modern facilities like Global Positioning System tracking and instant tracking and so on. Courier services are operated by many big and small companies, international and national, ones, MNCs and some even at the local-regional level or private ones. In such a vast country, customer satisfaction is always lacking.

Advantages of using Courier Services 1. Different services offered by courier services

Courier services have their branches across the globe. They get timely reports about the present weather conditions at specific locations, thus ensuring your parcels are delivered on time or you are notified of delays.

2. Anytime anywhere services

Courier services are available whenever and wherever you require them. Many courier companies are even working 24 hours a day. Moreover, you can login to the courier company website and track your packages transit status.

3. Door-to-door shipping
Courier services provide delivery of packages and parcels directly to door. Thus, we no longer need to leave our home or office to pick up our packages. If we are looking for the best means to deliver our parcels and packages, opting for courier services is the best solution. 4. Pick up facilities This is another new facility that is being provided by courier companies. Now a days courier company are providing facilities like picking up of parcels from home or offices which are meant for delivery. 5. Faster delivery One of the most important objectives of every courier company is to make quick delivery. The courier agencies
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6. Parcel tracking
The courier companies also provide facilities like tracking of parcel through internet. They use Global Positioning System technology to tract the position of the parcel and provide live position of the parcel.

Challenges in Courier Services

Several challenges remain before the Indian logistics sector and its future success will depend on the ability of the industry to overcome these hurdles. Some of these impediments are at the firm level while others are at the policy level.

1. Cut throat competition

The courier industries have been exposed to cut throat competition from India and the overseas competitors in the recent past. Due to globalisation the industry has seen entries of new companies from the overseas market which offers excellent services at competitive rates. Though there has been significant growth in the sector logistic analyst believe it is era of the survival of the fittest.

2. Heavy maintenance cost

The courier industry is concern with movement of goods from one place (origin) to another (destination). For this they require trucks, vehicles and even large companies have their own airlines, the cost incurred to maintain these modes of transports contribute to a large amount of the total expenses incurred. Now a days courier companies uses information technology and global position system to provide facilities like online tracking of goods.

3. Government Policies
A change in government policies regarding transportation, octroi, freight is also one of the major challenges faced by the courier industries. Change in these polices has lead to increase in the total cost incurred by a company. Inter-state check posts,
surprise checks and unauthorized hold ups on highways create traffic jam.

4. Increase in Fuel Prices

The courier industry is mainly concern of movement of goods from one place to another. To achieve this it requires the use of vehicle and airlines and for that one we require fuel. With the gradual increase in fuel, the overall cost increases as well. The rise in fuel cost is one of the major challenges the courier industry is facing.

5. Infrastructure
Poor road conditions increase the vehicle turnover, pushing the operating cost and reducing efficiency. National highways are being upgraded but they account for a meagre 2 per cent of the total road network. More importantly, due to non-contiguous development of expressways, truck traffic has to frequently move from the expressway on to old national highways and vice-versa. This is inconvenient and is restricting the utilization of the excellent road network that is being developed.

6. Heavy Advertisement cost

In order to market its product a huge amount is spent in the advertisement in business newspapers, televisions and internet in order to market its products and make ones presence felt in todays highly competitive market.

7. Damage goods
The courier company is under obligation to ensure the goods are well protected while they are in transit. The agency must be aware that the goods are fragile or if they are to be kept or carried in a certain way. If they do not, they will be liable for any damage occurred in transit.

8. Some other impediments factors are

a. Incorrect Address b. Recipient not available during delivery c. Accident during deliver.
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Conclusion
The courier industry is evolving rapidly and it is the interplay of infrastructure, technology and new types of service providers that will define whether the industry is able to help its customers reduce their courier costs and provide effective service. Changing government policies on taxation and regulation of service providers will also play an important role in this process. Coordination across various government agencies require approval from multiple ministries and is a road block for multi modal transport in India (e.g., ports, roads, railways, container freight operations etc. are all managed by different ministries in the Government of India. Internet and E-Commerce is drastically changing the range, delivery time and the speed of information as well as ordering and payment process . Due to the big boon of information technology, greatly influencing and enhancing the effectiveness of logistics, the time is not far when courier services would prove to be one of the major contributors to the National Income.